Five-star Two MICHELIN Keys Syntagma Square, Athens
Hotel Grande Bretagne
A house of 1842 on Syntagma Square, a hotel since 1874, with 320 rooms, a roof terrace facing the Acropolis and a bar named after Alexander the Great.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- Two Keys, 2026
- Rooms
- 320, including 61 suites with a butler
- A hotel since
- 1874
- From the airport
- About 35 kilometres from Athens International
The hotel
The house on Syntagma Square.
The building went up in 1842 as a private house for a businessman from Lemnos, across the square from the new royal palace that now holds the Greek Parliament. In 1874 Efstathios Lampsas bought it, restored it and opened it as the Grande Bretagne. Electricity arrived in 1888 and a new wing in 1930. Today the hotel has 320 rooms, sixty-one of them suites with a butler.
In 1940 the Greek General Headquarters moved in. The German command took it during the occupation, and in 1944 the British made it their headquarters; Winston Churchill is among the guests the hotel lists. After a slow decline, a two-year renovation in the early 2000s brought back the style of the 1842 interiors, with the oil paintings and antique furniture. Weekly tours now take guests round the collection.
- GB Roof Garden Mediterranean cooking on the roof, with the Acropolis, Lycabettus and the Parliament in view. The MICHELIN Guide lists it.
- Alexander's Bar Named for the eighteenth-century woven portrait of Alexander the Great on its wall, with rare whiskies and cognacs on the shelves.
- Winter Garden Afternoon tea every day, from a list of more than 1,500 teas.
Rooms & suites
Butlers, balconies and the Acropolis.
Sixty-one of the 320 rooms are suites with butler service, and some balconies look across the city to the Acropolis.
- Rooms Rooms on the square Many rooms face Syntagma Square or the Acropolis. Butler service covers the sixth and seventh floors.
- Two bedrooms Penthouse Suite Two bedrooms and a private terrace with its own pool, and room to dine outside for ten.
- One bedroom Royal Suite Over 400 square metres on the fifth floor, with two bathrooms and a wine cellar of more than 300 labels.
Dining
A roof, a garden of tea and a bar of whisky.
Venues as listed by the hotel; MICHELIN Guide listing as shown on the guide's site. Shown for information.
- GB Roof Garden MICHELIN Guide Mediterranean On the roof, facing the Acropolis
- Winter Garden Afternoon tea and all-day dining The lobby lounge
- Alexander's Bar Whisky, cognac and cocktails Beneath Alexander the Great
- The Atrium of Alexander's Lounge Cigars and drinks Beside the bar
- GB Pool Bar & Grill Grill At the outdoor pool
Recognition
Recognition.
- Two MICHELIN Keys 2026
- Forbes Travel Guide Recommended, 2026
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 3 pm, check-out by 11 am, according to the hotel. The MICHELIN Guide gives other times; we confirm with the hotel.
- Spa The GB Spa and its indoor pool are closed for renovation. Massages and facials continue in temporary rooms on the first floor, and the outdoor pool stays open.
- Pets Accepted in guest rooms, one per room, for a fee. The MICHELIN Guide says otherwise, so we check before booking.
- Children Welcome at any age.
Getting there
Flying to Athens.
Athens International, for airlines and private jets, is about 35 kilometres away by road. Allow 35 to 50 minutes by car, our estimate. The hotel runs no shuttle but books private cars, and Metro Line 3 stops at Syntagma, across the square.
- Mykonos 30 min
- Nice 2 h 20
- Geneva 2 h 35
- London 3 h 30
- Dubai 4 h 40
Questions
What guests ask first.
- How many MICHELIN Keys does Hotel Grande Bretagne have?
- Two. The hotel holds two MICHELIN Keys in the 2026 Greek selection.
- Is the spa at Hotel Grande Bretagne open?
- The GB Spa and its indoor pool are closed for renovation. Treatments continue in temporary rooms, and the outdoor pool is open.
- How old is Hotel Grande Bretagne?
- The building dates from 1842 and has been a hotel since 1874. It was restored to its original interiors in the early 2000s.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Athens?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Athens, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Athens
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens A resort of the 1960s terraced so that most rooms have a balcony over the sea, and the only hotel in Greece with three MICHELIN Keys.
- THE DOLLI at Acropolis Forty-six rooms in a neoclassical building of 1925, with an infinity pool on the roof.
- One&Only Aesthesis Bungalows and waterfront villas among olive trees above Asteras Beach, some with their own pool and fireplace.
- Anthology of Athens Eighteen rooms around an atrium hung with a vertical garden, many facing the columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
- Xenodocheio Milos Named after Costas Spiliadis's Milos restaurants, with Estiatorio Milos on the ground floor and forty-three rooms above.
- King George, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Athens A hotel dating from 1930, with 102 rooms and a two-bedroom penthouse on the ninth floor whose private pool looks towards the Acropolis.
- Electra Metropolis Its 216 rooms stand at the top of Mitropoleos Street near Syntagma, and the roof garden faces the Acropolis.
- Electra Palace Athens On Nikodimou Street in Plaka, with a roof garden restaurant on the eighth floor, a summer pool facing the Acropolis and a second pool indoors.
- AthensWas Greek marble and walnut inside, the pedestrian walk below the Acropolis outside, and the SENSE restaurant up on the roof.
- Athens Capital Hotel - MGallery Collection Built as a hotel in the late 1950s, it spent years as the headquarters of a financial institution before reopening in 2020 as the first MGallery in Greece.
- Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso A private sandy beach and a spa and thalassotherapy centre covering more than 3,500 square metres.
Staying at Hotel Grande Bretagne?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Athens, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.